The Phoenix Suns long ago made their bed with Devin Booker by giving him the maximum amount of money possible to stick around. The New York Knicks don't look like they will be making that mistake with Karl-Anthony Towns.
Knicks don't want to be stuck with aging star as Suns will be
Shams Charania of ESPN revealed Wednesday that talks between the Knicks and Towns on a potential four-year, $276 million extension have "stagnated."
Towns just helped them win a championship, but they clearly feel that would be paying too much for not even the best or most important player on his own team. Jalen Brunson clearly owns that title.
If they just give Towns what he wants, the Knicks would almost immediately be saddling themselves with an aging superstar whose value will only trend in the wrong direction. Many people believe that after Joel Embiid's current contract, Booker's is the second-worst in the entire league. Towns would enter that conversation immediately.
The Suns can still change direction after this season if they flame out, but that is thanks to smart extensions signed by other players, and not Booker. If anything, the return for a player who will be making around $65 million in each of the next two seasons may not be anything close to what The Valley believes it can be because of that monster deal.
It's the kind of deal not even the LA Clippers and their hopeless future would be interested in acquiring.
Where this situation differs is with the fact Booker is basketball in Phoenix, whereas Towns was added via trade. Booker is also the best player on his team and the face of the franchise, while the same cannot be said of Towns. It makes more sense for Phoenix to do this with Booker.
League is changing with Towns talks fizzling out for now
What this also shows is that franchises throughout the NBA won't blindly hand out max deals anymore and figure the rest out later. The Suns have done an amazing job of extending some of their best players on team-friendly deals this offseason, but they have a blind spot with Booker.
As long as they pay well over the odds for his services and ultimately are stuck with him, rival teams are being smarter about where they sink their money.
This era of an effective hard cap means front offices have to be tougher with superstars to ensure they don't sell their future away to satisfy one player. Phoenix has been stuck in a holding pattern ever since doing this, whereas the Knicks look to have learned from their situation.
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